
Gregor Božič
Directing
Biography
Gregor Božič is a Slovenian film director and cameraman, born on January 21, 1984. Božič graduated in film and television directing from the Academy of Theater, Radio, Film and Television in Ljubljana in 2009 and completed postgraduate studies in film directing at the DFFB in Berlin in 2015. His first feature film Stories from the Chestnut Woods in 2019 received the Vesna Award for the best film at the 22nd Slovenian Film Festival and, among others, Vesna for the best director.
Known For

In the mid-20th century, in a forested valley between Italy and Yugoslavia, a stingy widower befriends a young woman and helps her depart across the ocean to find there a better life. A chance encounter gives rise to a dreamy parable on loss, loneliness and the power of imagination.
Stories from the Chestnut Woods

1993. A passenger train from Belgrade to Bar is stopped by paramilitary forces in an ethnic cleansing operation. As they haul off innocent civilians, only one man dares to stand up to them. This is the true story of a man who could not remain silent.
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent

Through dramatic reconstruction and documentary asides, the spirit of Italian poet, playwright, journalist, aristocrat and army officer Gabriele D’Annunzio is captured, presenting the nascent fascism in his attempts to forge a new state in the aftermath of the First World War.
Fiume o Morte!

When a man known as Oroslan dies, the news quickly spreads through a little village, causing grief and emotion. Later on, actions become words and words become stories. In order to overcome the sorrow and restore the natural flow of life, the villagers start sharing their memories about Oroslan, re-creating his image through their tales.
Oroslan

In a not-too-distant future ravaged by climate crisis, a team of scientists analyse the archival footage of farmers from the past, in an attempt to understand their connection to the land. In this beautifully shot blend of documentary and fiction, Gregor Božić pays warm tribute to the old growers of the Goriška region in Western Slovenia, who appreciated fruit as more than merely a product for sale.
Common Pear

The student Darko Zuljan likes the partisan songs so much that he decides to revive the songs and put his idea into practical use as much as possible.
Hey Ho, Comrades

A documentary essay about the relationships among Mediterranean men and their games. The film takes the form of a travelogue across Croatia, Italy, Slovenia and Turkey, and examines men, young and old, who come together like their ancestors did – to play games. During filming, however, the director suddenly faces a serious creative crisis and turns the camera on himself, turning the film into a playful homage to absurdity.
Playing Men

A fleeting memory of an old woman looking back at her youth brings about a moment of elegance in times of the after-war misery.
Shoes from Trieste
A Slovenian filmmaker-botanist and a Japanese neuroscientist join forces to study an unusual agricultural document from the mid-20th century. The manuscript describes the case of a pear tree from a small village on the Yugoslav-Italian border, which was believed to be holding miraculous power to defy time.